Review | Evil Dead – 2013

The second film I saw during Halloween night, was Evil Dead. This horror film is a remake of The Evil Dead from 1981. Both films are produced by Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, who is the original writer as well.

Mia wants to quite with drugs so she gathers her friends for a weekend in the woods where her family had a cabin. When they discover a blood trail which leads to the basement, they see something shocking. Dead animals and traces of a fire. Eric also finds something else: The book of the Dead. Despite of the warnings, Eric reads from the book and with that he awakens evil living in the woods. These demons wants to possess them until only one is left to fight for survival.

What these friends have in common? They are boring and if they live or die, I don’t care. The characters are also quite flat, but that’s not new for this kind of horror film. We have junkie Mia (Jane Levy) her brother and the one who abandoned her and their crazy mother David (Shiloh Fernandez). It looks like Mia and David haven’t seen each other in a while, but since Mia wants to get clean David is here for her. David’s girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) is also part of the crew. I thought for a long time this blond girl would be the first to die, but that was a familiar preconception. Natalie is in the beginning a very dull character, it’s like she’s not even there! Untill she got bitten and makes a very smart and courageous move. Too bad it doesn’t help. Jessica Lucas plays Olivia, a doctor who tries to help her friend. The last person of the group is Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and to me he’s the biggest idiot. There is also a dog, who – of course – is the first to know something’s up.

The intro shows an event from – I guess – a few years back. For some time I was on the wrong track and felt sorry for that poor and innocent girl. But don’t judge too soon. Where the life of this girl ends, is the cabin the five friends are heading to. When they realise something’s fishy, Eric and David head to the basement. Besides the freaky things and dead animals, Eric finds a book which will change their lives forever. Once you read from this witch book, you summon up demons living in the nearby wood. Luckily, there are plenty of warnings. A normal person would trow this book away immediately, but not Eric. How many warnings does this guy need? And definitely not tell the others what you just read. It’s a scary and freaky thing when the first person is attacked and gets possessed. This person transforms into some weird zombie and once you got bitten, well then you’re next. The zo,bies look and sound very scary as well! Although one time I shared a big laugh because of one zombie’s action.

The process of getting attacked and transforming into a zombie is sometimes really gross and messed-up. There really are some scary moments and at least one ‘screaming-out-loud- moment. Although some did see that coming. I also shared some laughs, because some moments were just silly or stupid. Like everything Eric does and when Natalie, the blond girl, out of nowhere shares her opinion. Also, without reading the book, David knows exactly what to do. When he’s doing his thing, I was really waiting for something to happen, something predictable. However it did not happen and I was like: “Was that it?” Of course I should have know better, because that was not it. A zombie is crumbling towards the last person standing. It is predictable that one person survives this mess, but I never expected it be that one. I know I’m talking in riddles, but the only way to find out who survives, is by watching this film!

Evil Dead is a successful remake with some scary moments and great zombies. However, the film is never ‘eye pinching’ scary. There are some gore moments as well, but I don’t the biggest horror fans will be impressed. The characters are not people you will care for, and it doesn’t really matter who lives or who dies. The character Eric thinks he’s smart but in fact he’s the biggest idiot of them all, which is kind of hilarious in a way you think: “Oh my gosh, seriously?“. The intro scene, might be the best one of the entire film. The final scenes on the other hand might surprise you. I definitely don’t think this film is good, but it has its moments.